A free sexual health vending machine at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, has improved students' perceived access to condoms, dental dams and lubricant, according to a study in Frontiers in Public Health. Researchers surveyed 118 students between October and December 2025, and 98% agreed the machine, installed in October 2022, made these products easier to obtain.
The machine went in during October 2022 and gives out free condoms, dental dams and lubricant. Students don't need to swipe a student ID, which is the kind of detail that matters when the product in question is not something most people want attached to their name.
The appetite is clear. According to Vending Times, 99% of respondents said it's important for the university to provide these resources. Nearly 69% said the machine made them more likely to use a condom, and students who had used the machine recently were significantly more likely to report that effect.
Restocking records back up the survey answers. During November and December 2025 alone, the machine was refilled with 1,509 condoms, 60 dental dams and 222 units of lubricant.
Then there's the catch. About 38% of respondents said they had thought about using the machine and then decided against it. Of that group, nearly 82% cited worries about being seen. A machine can be free and ID-free and still sit in plain view.
Students had suggestions for the next restock: more condom sizes, more lubricant options and menstrual products.
The findings come with the usual limits. This is a survey of 118 students at one campus, and Vending Times reports the researchers combined it with the machine's restocking records. It shows how these students describe the machine, not how every campus would respond to one.
The machine is already doing a lot of work. Whether it can fix the being-seen problem is the open question.